Favorite Historical Fiction

Hello everyone!

It's been a while, but I really want to try to get back into a regular routine of posting. Today I wanted to share some of my favorite historical fiction novels. Historical fiction isn't something I read on a regular basis, but I do enjoy it from time to time.

I wanted to start out by mentioning two of Ruta Sepetys' novels. 

They're both set during world war 2. Between Shades of Gray follows a girl who is sent to concentration camp and her struggles there. Salt to the Sea follows four different refugees who are fleeing the Soviet Union. Both of them are heartbreaking stories, but I loved them.

Blood and Sand is another great historical fiction that I think is underrated. More people need to read this book! It's set in Rome and is a gender swapped story of Spartacus, but it's also so much more than that. Attia is such a strong, independent character who has to prove herself. I loved this novel so much.

Warrior of the Wild is set during viking times. This was the first viking novel I ever read and it was so good! I loved all the characters and the development they had to go through. Plus the writing was so beautiful. It has inspired me to read more viking inspired novels.

Devil's Arithmetic is about a brother and sister from modern day who travel back in time to the Holocaust. They are put into a concentration camp where they not only endure all the pain there, but also have to find a way back home. This wasn't an easy novel to read, but it was worth it.

Clockwork Angel is set in Victorian London but also in the Shadow-hunter world. So you get a taste of what Victorian life was like with some Supernatural events mixed in. It's such a fun read.

What are your favorite historical fiction novels? I'm always on the hunt for new ones to read. 

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day.

~Abby

P.S. I just started a bookstagram account you should follow (if you want to). @abbysreadingcorner

May 2019 Wrap-Up

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since I've posted, but it's officially summer for me so hopefully I can get back into a regular posting schedule. This month I was able to read 6 books and most of the books I read were poetry collections which were great.

Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book? by Ally Carter

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Bring Me All of Your Dreams Poems Selected by Nancy Larrick

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Humble & Kind by Tim McGraw

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Think Again by JonArno Lawson

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My Name is Jason. Mine too. Our Story. Our Way. by Jason Reynolds
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Refusing Heaven by Jack Gilbert
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Did you read any good books in May? 

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.

~Abby

Favorite Books Published in the Last Ten Years

Hello everyone!

I saw this was a Top Ten post recently and wanted to share my top ten favorite books published in the last ten years. I'll share one book for every year between 2009 and 2018.

2009: Wings by Aprilynne Pike

2010: The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy

2011: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

2012: The Selection by Kiera Cass

2013: Vicious by V.E. Schwab

2014: The Jewel by Amy Ewing

2015: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

2016: Michael Vey: The Fall of Hades by Richard Paul Evans

2017: Adultolescence by Gabbie Hanna

2018: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

It was so hard to only pick one book from each year, but I tried to pick ones that influenced me as a reader. 

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day.

~Abby

Review: Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

Hello everyone!
Recently I finished reading Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller. This was my first book from this author, and I was impressed. Warrior of the Wild follows a female warrior, Rasmira. She's been raised a warrior and has been getting trained to become the new village leader. Before any person is able to become a warrior, they must pass a trial. Rasmira doesn't pass her trial, so she is sent to the wild with the impossible task of killing the god who has tormented their villages for decades.

This book was so fast paced and I found it hard to put down. I loved the characters and the stakes. The tension was so high throughout the whole novel because you were always wondering if she'd complete her task to be able to return to her village. The romance element in this book was also really well done. It was a slow burn which I really enjoyed.

The only thing I didn't really like from this book was how women were viewed lesser than the men. Rasmira is the only female warrior mentioned in the book and everyone around her, besides her father, looks down on her for it. She is constantly having to prove herself to show that she can be just as good of a warrior as any man. It doesn't help that she is going to be the next village leader, so people already envy her for that.

Overall, I rated this book 4/5 stars. It was a highly entertaining and enjoyable read. I suggest you check it out if you are interested in viking stories. It was really well done and the plot has you hooked from chapter 1.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a fabulous day.

~Abby

April 2019 Wrap-Up

Hello everyone!

It's been quite a while since I've made a post for this blog. I've been busy getting ready to graduate so life has been a little hectic, but I'm hoping to be posting regularly again. With all that's been going on, I've still been able to read 5 books which isn't too bad. Sadly, I wasn't able to complete my O.W.L.'s which is really disappointing. There's always next year.

Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie

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Review here.

Entwined by Heather Dixon

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For Every One by Jason Reynolds

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The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

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Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

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What books did you read in April? Any new favorites?

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.

~Abby

Spring Book Recommendations

Hello everyone!

Spring is finally here, and what better way to celebrate than to share some books that are perfect for the spring time. In the spring, I like to read books that I can fly through and don't take too long to read since I'm on the go a lot. 

 

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.

~Abby

Review: Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie

Hello everyone!

I had the privilege of meeting Kathryn Purdie at Teen Author Boot Camp and knew I had to read her books as soon as possible. She's such an amazing person. Burning Glass is about a girl who is an empath. She can feel both emotions as well as physical pains. She is forced to become the Auraseer for the emperor and is caught between wanting to serve him but also work with the rebellion. It was oh so good! 

The characters were amazingly done. I didn't want to get too attached to anybody because I didn't know what secrets they were hiding. And the romance was so well done. I was fooled at the beginning of the book thinking she was falling for one brother when it actually ended up being the other brother all along which now makes perfect sense. They are such a perfect match for each other. 

What really intrigued me is how she can basically dig through someone's aura and detect what they are feeling. Her weakness though is that when surrounded by a large group of people, she can't discern whose aura is whose. I felt like I connected to her character so much. There was so much deceit and I couldn't put it down for hours on end.

I rated this book 4/5 stars. The only reason I didn't give it a full 5 stars is because some of the scenes got repetitive. Not to give away any spoilers, but when she visited the emperor I felt like she dealt with the same thing over and over with no resolution until the end. That was the most annoying part of the book, but other than that it was such a fun read. I highly suggest you check this book out. I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!

Have you read Burning Glass? If so, what did you think of it?

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day.

~Abby

My Blog's Name in Books Tag

Hello everyone!

I saw this tag over at The Bibliophile Girl's blog and wanted to do it too. The rule is you can only do books that are on your TBR (physical or Goodreads) and you can't add books just to fit a letter.

ABBY'S

A - All the Light We Cannot See by Antony Doerr

B - The Bargaining by Carly Anne West

B - The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

Y - You by Caroline Kepnes

S - Smoke and Summons by Charlie N. Holmberg

READING

R - The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

E - Eragon by Christopher Paolini

A - Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

D - Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

I - I Was Here by Gayle Forman

N - Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

G - The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

CORNER

C - Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas

O - Once Upon Now by Various Authors

R - Reboot by Amy Tintera

N - Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks

E - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

R - Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Thanks for stopping by. Have a fantastic day.

~Abby

The Spring Cleaning Book Tag

Hello everyone!

I found this tag over at A Great Read's blog and decided it looked like fun.

The Struggle of Getting Started: A book/series that you have struggled to begin because of its size.

Compared to the other books in this series, War Storm is massive. I really want to read the finale because it's one of my favorite series, but its size has been keeping me away. I am determined to finish it this year though.

Cleaning Out the Closet: A book/series you *almost* want to unhaul.

Don't get me wrong, I still want to read this, but I haven't really heard anything about it since it first came out. The premise still interests me.

Opening the Windows and Letting Fresh Air In: A book that was refreshing.

This book makes you think just a little and it was a breath of fresh air after not being in the mood to read for a few weeks. The writing was also so unique and I loved it.

Washing Out Sheet Stains: A book you wish you could rewrite a certain scene in.

I won't reveal which scene so I don't give away spoilers, but it's towards the end of the book.

Throwing Out Unnecessary Nick-Nacks: A book in a series you didn't feel was necessary.

These books were so unnecessary, but I did enjoy them, just not as much as the original trilogy.

Polishing the Doorknobs: A book that had a clean finish.

This series was a roller-coaster, but I thought it ended quite nicely. It was a satisfying end to this series.

Reaching to Dust the Fan: A book that tried too hard to relay a certain message.

I'm sure pretty much everyone has heard of this book. I really liked it, even though most people didn't. But it did spend most of the book putting the blame on the thirteen people when Hannah was part of the reason as well.

The Tiring Yet Satisfying Finish of Spring Cleaning: A book series that was tiring yet satisfying to get through.

This trilogy was so worth the read. It took me a few weeks to get through, but I was so satisfied once finished. There's so much action and intrigue. 

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day.

~Abby